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China’s return to work following the Chinese New Year holiday ending on February 10 has witnessed a flurry of announcements from provincial and city governments heralding the launch of public works projects, including many related to transportation infrastructure. The hotter-than-usual infrastructure activity is seen as helping to shore up domestic steel demand in 2019 when pundits are warning that steel will struggle this year.
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Sales of construction equipment achieved by China’s 25 leading excavator makers totalled 15,877 units in January, up by a moderately healthy 10% on year, according to new statistics released by the China Construction Machinery Association (CCMA) on February 15.
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Rains deluging large swathes of China at present and which could continue till late March have triggered steel-market concerns about delays to the resumption of activity at construction sites after the Chinese New Year holiday break.
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China’s domestic sales of 14-100 tonne heavy-duty trucks grew again, up 16% on month to 96,000 units in January, but it was down 12% on year, according to the latest data from Beijing-headquartered Commercial Vehicle World (CVWorld) on February 11.
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China’s steelmakers producing flat steel and electrical steel received some pre-Chinese New Year cheer on Tuesday when the central government revealed more about its plans to boost consumer buying of home appliances.
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Production of the four most popular electrical home appliances in China posted a mixed picture for 2018, with three of them including air-conditioner, television, and refrigerator continuing to grow on year, while washing machine scoring a year-on-year decline, according to the latest data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
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China’s production of automobiles fell by 3.8% on year to 27.97 million units last year, according to the official statistics released by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on January 21.
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China’s steelmakers enjoyed sufficient ship plate orders from domestic shipyards last year as the country’s shipbuilders constructed the most vessels globally, despite a double-digit decline in tonnage delivered, Mysteel learnt on Thursday.
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China’s drive to further expand its new energy vehicle (NEV) industry has taken another international turning with Tuesday’s announcement by the Hongkong-listed Evergrande Healthy Industry Group that it intends to take a controlling stake in a leading Swedish manufacturer of such vehicles. Chinese makers of high spec automotive sheet are certain to benefit directly in sales to two local plants but so might battery material makers, Mysteel notes.
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China retained its top position in global automobile output and sales for a tenth straight year in 2018, despite reductions in both last year, according to the latest statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) published on January 14.
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Overall demand from China’s major steel-consuming sectors including infrastructure, machinery and white goods will remain largely stable or even increase slightly this year, according to Yu Yong, chairman of China Iron and Steel Association (CISA). But demand from a few sectors such as property may decline moderately, he warned.
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Recent news that China’s central government is taking steps to stimulate consumption of automobiles and home appliances this year is being widely applauded by domestic makers of flat-rolled steel where weak demand has resulted in depressed prices since the second half of 2018.
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Tesla, the Palo Alto California-headquartered electric car manufacturer in the US, has started constructing its giant battery and auto manufacturing plant in Lin’gang area, East China’s Shanghai, on January 7, according to a post by the Shanghai Municipal Government.
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China’s sales of heavy-duty trucks in the 14~100 tonnes-class in 2018 created a new record high, hitting 1.15 million units and growing 3% on year, according to the latest data from Beijing-headquartered Commercial Vehicle World published on January 2. CVWorld noted that 2018 was only the third year for annual sales of these heavy vehicles in China to exceed 1 million units.
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China’s Ministry of Commerce (MoC) anticipates the country’s sales of new energy vehicle (NEV) to grow further on year to 1.6 million units for 2019, Gao Feng, the ministry’s spokesperson quoted the projection from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) at its routine press conference on December 27 in Beijing.
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Both steel demand and supply in Central China’s Henan province are expected to slacken further with the latest move by the provincial government to curb polluting industrial sectors including steel mills for four days since the late night of December 20 on the severe poor air quality forecast in the next few days, Mysteel understands from market sources on December 21.
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New regulations announced this week by China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) – the country’s top planning body – promoting increased production and sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) while placing limits on manufacturers of traditional combustion-engine vehicles should present opportunities for steelmakers offering higher grades of automotive steel such as high-tensile and ultra-high-tensile steel sheets.
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Sales trends in China of the three major household appliances – refrigerators, washing machines and air-conditioners – will diverge next year, with those of the first two seen improving slightly while those of the latter trending down moderately, He Jinming, general manager of the home appliance department of ChinaIOL.com told delegates Thursday attending the 2018 National Nonferrous Metals Conference in Shanghai.
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Chinese steel demand in 2019 could weaken slightly from that forecast for this year, and the high profitability Chinese steel mills have enjoyed for much of this year seems unlikely to be sustained into next year, according to market pundits canvassed by Mysteel Thursday.
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China will continue efforts to promote infrastructure development and will maintain effective and steady investment in this area, according to an announcement published by China’s State Council on October 31.
